


Hello, Thomas

by ll4nce



Series: Of School, Family, and Gods [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anxiety, Bullying, Dysfunctional Family, Homophobia, Kinda Self-Insert, Multi, One-Sided Attraction, References to Depression, Running away from home, Suicide, Violence, delusional characters, execution hour!!, holy those tags, if you like being called merag, or dont your decision, you should play hello charlotte before reading this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-18 19:21:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16523129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ll4nce/pseuds/ll4nce
Summary: You, the puppeteer Merag from the true realm, are assigned to guide the human Thomas Arclight through his life in the false realm.Inspired by etherane's Hello Charlotte.





	Hello, Thomas

**Author's Note:**

> "Hey, what do you think happens if you die?" 
> 
> "Does it really matter?"
> 
> "Well, yes. I want to know if we are truly free after death. If the puppeteers can't control us after death. It's important to me!"
> 
> "Recently, I read something on some blog. it was a universe birth theory. Apparently, souls are source material for universes. If a person dies, this soul data gets released and explodes in a Big Bang. Like this, a new universe is born. Depending on your mind's state, it can become a hellish place or something alike to paradise. heaven and hell, you now?"
> 
> "Like a world that consisted of you only?" 
> 
> "Yes, pretty much. Everything that you were gains shape and form and life is born." 
> 
> "It's possible for our world to be someone's mind taking shape then?"
> 
> "Of course. There's a chance that there is a cruel god, predetermining our endings, laughing at our misery. But I don't mind. It doesn't really matter anymore."
> 
> "Say, if it was true and you became the god of your own world after you died, what would be the first thing you'd do?"

You met Thomas for the first time when he just became 10 years old. The cake from his birthday was still on the table, present wrappers and the toys he got strewn around the white living room floor. He was sleeping right in-between the mess, snoring loudly.

You called him, and he blearily opened his eyes after a few times, looking around. “Who's there?”, he asked, unable to see you. Of course, after all, you're residing in the true realm while he lives in the false realm.

[My name is Merag. I'm the puppeteer from the true realm assigned to you.]

He huffed and pouted, facing the window on the white wall. “Oh, Chris told me about that”, he said. “Listen, I don't want you to control me for the rest of my life, so can you leave?”

[I'm afraid that's not possible. Every child from the false realm has a puppeteer starting from their tenth birthday. Also, I'm not here to control you, but to guide you.]

“You're going to tell me what to do and what not to do, how is that not controlling me? I asked Chris all about it, he already had a puppeteer for a few years!”, he complained. You sighed.

[You can still refuse if you want to. Just explain to me why and I'll understand. I don't know the puppeteer of your brother, but I'm ready to cooperate with you.]

He still pouted, but you can see he's somewhat relieved as he murmured words you are not quite able to catch. You asked him to repeat himself. He glared at the emptiness. “Pah, already starting to order me around. I said ‘okay, fine’. Can I go back to sleep now? You woke me at a super early time.”

You told him thanks and that he could go to sleep, making him curl up at the white floor again, sighing contentedly as he closes his eyes and starts snoring again.

As you watched him, you felt a fondness for him for the first time.

**365 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

Thomas is 16 years old now. You think about the lifespan of normal humans and that he will reach 50 soon enough. Then you'll have to say goodbye to him for forever and maybe they'll assign you to a new human. You feel a little sad at the thought, as you are quite smitten with Thomas. He's very precious and important to you.

In the beginning, he was rather brash towards you and argued with your decisions whenever he could, but he slowly warmed up to you, starting to listen to your decision, even though he still playfully argues sometimes. If he has a good argument on why something shouldn't be done, you listen to him too. You'd like to say that your relationship is one of mutual trust.

He's in school right now, taking some test in the white school walls, sitting on a white chair on a white desk. “Hey, Merag”, he whispers. “Help me with this, I didn't study at all.”

You sigh as you look at test sheet. He grins and flips his pen around in his hand.

_Write down some history._

[One time, a queen said to the poor people they should just buy a cake if they can't buy bread.]

“That really happened?”, Thomas asked with a chuckle. You smile and affirm. You also tell him she was beheaded afterward. He grins a little wider at that.

_2x=6x What number is x? Tipp: it isn't 0._

[I don't think that's possible...if it isn't 0, what is it?]

“You can't solve this one, too? It's no problem, I'll just skip it.” He leaves the field for the answer empty and moves to the next question.

_If you were dead, what would be the first thing you'd do?_

[This test is weird.]

He shrugs and shows you the next question.

_This is the last question: Why are you even attending school?_

[I really can't answer this one for you, Thomas.]

Giving an affirmative hum, he scribbles something down and gives the sheet to the teacher. The teacher says that he could leave, so Thomas does.

You tell him to go to the yard and sit down on a bench until the others are done and the lessons can continue. He complies with murring.

“You weren't a great help, Merag”, he says while stretching a bit with a groan, sighing after a somewhat sickening crack.

[Next time, just study for the test. Then you don't need to rely on me to tell you all the answers.]

“Yeah, yeah. I get it, it's my fault. It's never yours. Guiding me must be soooooo hard.” He shoves his hand into his pockets with a grin, clearly showing you that he was just messing with you. You huff at him anyway.

“Are you done as well?” a familiar voice suddenly asks, making Thomas light up immediately. It's Tenjou Kaito.

“Yeah, how was it?” Thomas says, Kaito nodding. “I did fine. I'll guess you did good, too?”

“Well duh.” You think about telling Thomas that it was pretty much you who did everything and that it didn't go that well, but you know he just wants to look good in front of Kaito, so you let it pass.

Kaito chuckles. “As expected from you, Thomas. Continue on like this and you'll catch up to Chris in no time.”

Thomas blushes slightly and looks to the ground with a shy smile. You feel your heart warm a bit as you look at him fondly, wanting nothing more but to ruffle your protege's hair a bit. Sadly, you're two or more realms apart.

The two boys sit on the bench in silence, Kaito reading something while Thomas seemingly content with just sitting next to his crush in silence.

[Why don't you tell him how you feel? It's obvious he likes you back.]

“Shut up, Merag”, he grumbles, throwing a glance at Kaito, who seems too engrossed into his book to hear Thomas talking. “I tell him once I am proud of who I am.”

[Are you not proud of who you are?]

Thomas shakes his head slightly. “Once I surpassed Chris”, he just whispers and you don't question him further. 

You know how important it is to him to earn his father's and Christopher's respect, after all, you've been with Thomas for 6 years. He doesn't seem to realize how much they both already respect him.

He sits next to Kaito until the bells ring, Kaito saying goodbye while smiling and waving, Thomas waving back at him.

[He likes you back.]

Thomas groans. “This again? Listen Merag, I like being his friend. What if I ruin it by telling him about this?”

[You are being ridiculous. You are a man, right?]

“Shut up, Merag!” You sigh as he throws a for him usual tantrum, asking him to go to the next class with a sweet voice. He does, but he still pouts like a child and refuses to speak to you. You roll your eyes.

“Hello, Thomas!”, a student on the floor says, Thomas greeting him back with a smile. “I'm your fan, Thomas!” another student, a female, tells him. “You look amazing as always!”, someone calls. “You're so smart! I saw the test results!”

[You're popular...], you note, Thomas grinning as he thanks all with a winner's smile. “All of them are my fans. Did you really never noticed this, Merag?”

You feel kind of miffed that he only started to talk to you again to boast, but you're used to it. You ask him why they are his fans and what for. His face screws up in the most disbelieving disgust you have ever seen.

“You should know! You were with me all the time! It's because I'm good in school, handsome and still nice. You know, like a perfect guy.”

You shake your head. He can't see you, but it seems like he could feel you were doing something like that. “You're being a real pain today, Merag. Just admit that I'm great for once!”

You're disappointed in him. [If you are that amazing, why are you this scared to tell Kaito about how you really feel?]

“That's something completely different!”, he hisses, clearly mad at you. You're getting mad at him, too. “Stop telling me over and over! You can't force to do what you want!”

You want to tell him that yes you could. You are his puppeteer after all. But you refrain from doing so. You fear that it would destroy that trust you have worked so hard to get. 

So you stay silent, watching him as he interacts with his classmates with an awfully fake smile on his face. He sits down for class and the teacher starts the lecture. You still don't say a word.

He's on his way home, looking at the ground and kicking pebbles around with a frown when you decide to swallow your pride. One hour without speaking to him at all was unbearably lonely to you. And there's no way he'll ever apologize to you first.

[I'm sorry, Thomas.]

He looks up in surprise. Then he averts his eyes again, choosing to glare at the stone to his feet. “It's fine. You're forgiven for now, Merag.” You tell him thanks while rolling an eye. He doesn't answer.

You arrive at the elevator. He gets in and presses the button for the first floor. Without much fuss, it starts to move, taking him down. “Hey, Merag…?”, he says while the door opens with a ding, slightly fumbling with his hands. “...I'm sorry, too.” You were barely able to hear it, that's how quietly he was speaking. But you were able to hear, and so your heart swells with pride. You know how difficult it must have been for him, so you assure him that he is forgiven. He huffs at you and walks the short path from the elevator to his home door, smiling to himself. 

You tell him that you can see him smile. “Wha…? Shut up.” He is embarrassed, as one could see because of his slight blush. You chuckle slightly at his antics. He doesn't think it's funny but just grumbles as he opens the door.

“I'm back!”, he calls, footsteps already echoing in the white-walled hallway before he even finished the sentence. “Brother! Welcome home!” It's Thomas's little brother, Michael.

“Hey there, tiny. How was your day?”, Thomas says while hugging his brother with a laugh, Michael groaning. “I'm not tiny!”

“You're smaller than me, that counts as tiny.” Michael looks up with an innocent smile. “So you're saying you are on the verge of being tiny yourself?” Thomas seemed to think about that for a second. “...just, shut up. Whatever.”

Michael chuckles, closing the door Thomas forgot to close and helps him find his house shoes. “Where's Chris?”, Thomas asks while refusing to let Michael help with his jacket too, the other whining a bit as he was unable to reach due to his height.

“You know him. He's working with dad on something. But he said he and Dad will be back early.” Thomas smiles at that and Michael smiles back, both brothers going down the floors. “Hey Merag, I want to play something with Michael, is that okay?”, Thomas whispers to you. He seems to know he should actually study.

[You don't even need to ask me about that. Just have fun!]

He looks grateful and drags his brother into the TV room, turning some consoles on and letting himself plop down on the couch next to Michael, loudly declaring that he will win every game and then sheepishly asks you to help him with that when Michael is not paying attention. You sigh and roll your eyes, but help him anyway.

In the end, they play so much Michael falls asleep on the couch in between some snacks and Thomas's school overall, Thomas petting his hair next to him with a fond smile. 

[You like to spoil him, don't you?]

Thomas nods. “He's my baby brother, I love him more than the world. He's always on my side if I argue with Chris.” You chuckle at that. You can imagine Christopher sighing while Thomas pouts up at him, Michael trying his best to help even though he has no idea what this is about. It makes your heart feel a little warmer.

Just when you thought about Christopher, there was rustling at the front door, making Thomas jolt up, while Michael opens his eyes with a yawn. “It's Chris and Dad! They're back!”

As soon as the youngest Arclight heard that he jumps up in excitement as well, both brothers rushing to the front door where Christopher and Byron were, surprised at the two running siblings.

“Dad! Chris! You're so late!”, Thomas cries out, Michael making some noise of agreement as they both tackled their brother and father, they catch them with a slight laugh. “Sorry”, Christopher tried to amend, holding up a familiar box which makes Thomas's eyes shine and Michael smile radiantly. “As an apology, we brought some takeout from your favorite place, Thomas.”

“Forgiven! Let's eat!” In just a flash, Thomas lets go of Christopher and runs into the eating room, his older brother following with a laugh. Byron also cheers while dragging the still attached Michael into the house.

Soon, they are seated around the small family table, eating and trading stories from Christopher and Byron's studies, Michael's middle school adventures and Thomas's days in high school. “By the way, I've seen your test results, Thomas. I'm very proud”, Byron tells his son with a smile, Thomas positively beaming at the compliment. “Just wait, Chris”, he boasts, “I'll be as smart as you one day and help father with his studies!” Christopher laughs and encourages him. Thomas smiles even more.

[I'm proud of you too.]

He stops for a second. Then, he grins, stuffing himself with the takeout he loves so much, Christopher calling him out on him out on his table manners while Byron seemingly even cheers him on, Michael watching with a tad to much interest. 

You want to take everything back, but he looks so happy you can't do it.

**364 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

“Good morning, Merag”, Thomas yawns when he wakes up the next day.

[Good morning.]

Dragging himself out of bed, he walks to the kitchen and opens the fridge, looking at the things inside. “Psh, Merag, what should I eat?”

[Something healthy, maybe.]

He groans and picks up some carrots and a cucumber, cutting them while also toasting his bread. He then throws some cheese and the vegetables on it, eating it with a face distorted in disgust.

[It can't be that bad. Man up.]

“Shuddup”, he just slurs back at you, spitting some out and throwing it under the table when he thinks you're not paying attention. You don't have the heart to tell him that you saw everything.

After he finishes eating, you tell him to brush his teeth and get dressed. He does, but his loud complaints might wake up Michael, still sleeping until he has to go to school later. Christopher and Byron have already left.

Thomas leaves the house in the school uniform, a jacket, and black shoes, yawning as he walks up to the elevator and waiting for it to arrive. Once it does he gets in and presses the button to get to the second floor. He nearly falls asleep again, so you wake him. 

The elevator arrives, he gets out. The school is just a few meters away. Once he passes the school gates, he is greeted by many of the students. Thomas greets all of them back with a smile. It looks a lot more genuine than it did yesterday.

[Still Mr. Popular, I see.]

“Yeah, everyone loves me. And I love everyone!” You chuckle at his answer. It's ironic because a certain someone has been waiting for him in front of the school building. 

“Hey, Thomas. I've been waiting for you. Want to go to the classroom together?” Kaito is there, his back leaning on the white wall behind him, arms crossed and mouth curved into a smile.

“Oh, Kaito”, Thomas responded, trying to sound cool and casual. You know that he's panicking in his mind. He can be such a kid sometimes. “Yeah, let's walk together.”

They make way towards classroom 0957, walking up the stairs in an unhurried pace, Kaito telling Thomas about trivial things like how Haruto is doing or Faker's newest stupid invention that no one needs, but your protege listens to him attentively anyways. You feel happy for him, and remembering what happened last time, you refrain from teasing him with his obvious crush.

They arrive at the classroom, most of their classmates already seated. They all move to greet Thomas when he arrives, however. Kaito patiently waits until the commotion is over and then picks two seats for them. They continue to chat until the teacher arrives.

“Listen, students”, the teacher says before starting their lecture. “There have been reports about stray puppet dogs on the yard. We will work on removing them soon. Please don't feed them.” They say this in a very stern voice, causing murmurs between the students.

Then, they start with the lecture. Thomas doesn’t pay attention during class and you can't get him to.

The class ends. “Hey, let's eat lunch together”, Kaito suggests and Thomas nods, almost a bit to fast. “Sure. Pick a place on the roof? I'll get the food from the cafeteria.” Kaito nods and smiles, walking up the steps to the roof while Thomas takes the stairs down to the cafeteria. It's full of students who also want to eat something. The tables are filled and you're glad that Thomas was smart enough to want to eat on the roof. 

“Hey Merag, what should I get for Kaito and I?”, Thomas asks. There are two things to choose from. Healthy Salad and Fries. You want to tell him to get a salad, but the salad is way more expensive, so you tell him to get two times fries. He does, with a happy smile on his face. Then, he hurries up the stairs with the same big smile.

Kaito is already waiting for him. There's no one else on the roof. “I got us fries”, Thomas says, trying to hide how out of breath he is. If Kaito notices, he kindly ignores it. He just takes the food with thanks and they sit down on the bench staring over the railing into the beautiful white city they live in.

“So, Thomas”, Kaito starts. “You think it's true?”

“What?”, Thomas asks, half of his fries already scarfed down while Kaito still had all but about one or two.

“The one about puppet dogs on the yard. You think it's true?” Thomas shrugs. “Haven't seen them.”

“Let's look for them”, Kaito suggest and Thomas looks up at him in surprise. “But why do you want to look for the puppet dogs?

“Don't you think puppet dogs are cute? I just want to see.” Thomas looks troubled at that. You think about what could be bothering him because you know he actually likes puppet dogs a lot. Usually, he would've jumped on the idea to find some.

“Well, I do, but…” Kaito seems excited. “Let's go look!” He stands up and starts walking to the stairs, leaving a still frowning Thomas behind.

[What's wrong? You like puppet dogs, don't you?]

“Don't you think Kaito is acting weird? He's usually not this excitable about things that aren't his brother, right?” You honestly don't know. To you, there is nothing wrong with how Kaito is acting.

[I don't think he's acting weird. Aren't you glad that you have the same interests? You both like puppet dogs!]

Thomas sighed. “If you say so...I guess you're right.” He stands up and follows Kaito down the stairs, letting you lead him to the yard for once instead of walking himself as he seems to be thinking deeply about something.

[We're here.]

He finally moves by himself again, meeting Kaito who's kneeling, staring into a bush with narrowed eyes. Both of you are rather curious on what he's doing until there is a slight rustling behind the bush and a small puppet puppy crawls out of the space, whining pathetically as he trots over to Kaito's outstretched hand.

“Aw, look. It's a puppet puppy!” Kaito smiles at Thomas, who still looks uncomfortable but kneels down next to Kaito anyway, watching the small puppy with big eyes. It rubs Kaito's hand whining and showing his barely visible teeth. “I think it's hungry”, he notes, the puppy barking as if in agreement.

“I don't have any food with me”, Thomas murmurs, Kaito nodding along with a sad face. “Neither do I. But I feel kind of bad for the little guy…” Thomas watches the little puppy whine again, frowning. He fumbles with his pockets and finally finds some leftover fries. “I could feed the dogs this…”

[I don't think it's good for them, Thomas.]

“Yeah, but…” He gazes at the puppy again. You don't think you can stop him on this one.

“Oh, you still have some fries!”, Kaito suddenly says, looking at Thomas's hands. “We can feed them this!” You groan internally. Now Thomas won't listen to you for sure.

“Is it really fine? The teacher has forbidden us from feeding them. And Merag says it's not healthy either.” Kaito waves him off. “The teacher won't know. Come on.”

Thomas still looks troubled. “But…” Kaito interrupts him. “It's fine, Thomas. What's the worst thing that could happen? Think about how happy it will make the puppies! They are starving!”

Thomas looks around. Attracted by the whining of the first puppy, a whole bunch have gathered by now. About four puppies were all whining at the two of them, asking them for food. “Merag, what should I do…?”, he asks you slightly panicked, the puppet dogs getting louder and louder.

[...Let's just feed them before they get too loud and you get caught. And don't worry, it's just like Kaito says, even if this ends badly, I will take all responsibility for your actions.]

He nods and then proceeds to feed the puppies barking happily as they eat out of his hand. Afterward, they stay and let themselves be pet by Thomas and Kaito, the two boys only leaving when it's time to go to the next class.

Thomas is distracted for the rest of the day. You can't get him to focus. He seems down on the way home, but you can't cheer him up. You hope Michael will be able to.

When he opens the door, Chris is there. “Welcome back Thomas- Hey, what's wrong?”

Thomas smiles at him weakly. “I don't even know. But I'm glad your here.” Christopher looks at him fondly, with a hint of worry. “Hm, I have just the right idea to help you relax a bit, okay? You go ahead to the TV room and pick a movie, I get dad and Michael and some snacks. And then we'll all watch the movie and spend some time together.”

Thomas looks really happy at the suggestion. “Merag, it's alright, yeah?” You affirm this and his smile is radiant. “Let's do it, Chris! You're the best!” His brother smiles at Thomas's retreating back as he runs into the TV room, asking you which movie he should pick. You tell him to pick something that won't make Michael cry, to which he complains that he likes horror movies a lot. In the end, you pick a cheesy action movie.

The family watches it together, Thomas nestled in between his older brother and father, Michael sitting half on his, half on Chris's lap, burying his face into the middle Arclight's shoulder whenever there was something he didn't want to watch. Which he did a surprising many times considering this was a cheesy action film.

At the end of the film, Chris tucks both of his younger siblings in - even though Thomas protests that he is way too old for this kind of thing, you know he secretly appreciates it a lot. He looks ready to burst because of happiness when his father pops a head in to wish him goodnight.

[Do you feel better now?]

Thomas sighs. “I still think there was something weird about Kaito today. He was so easily excitable, weirdly attached to the puppet dogs and way to forceful when it was about me feeding them. He wanted to help those dogs so badly, it was scary.”

[I don't know...he seemed normal to me.]

“Hm”, was the only response you got as he turned around in his bed, yawning. “I wonder if I messed up with him by thinking so much about feeding the dogs or not…”, he murmurs, you shaking your head.

[Don't worry, I'm sure he understands. If he doesn't, all you need to do is explain it to him. I'll be there for you in that case.]

“Mhm...thank you, Merag. G'night…”

[Good Night.]

**345 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

When Thomas wakes up, you make fun of his bed head. He grumbles and refuses to listen to you when you tell him to eat something healthy for breakfast, stuffing a slice of bread and some leftover chicken from yesterday's take out into his mouth while trying to imitate your voice at the same time. It ends it kind of a mess. But because he usually throws vegetables under the table in the mornings as well, you don't think there will be problems if he just leaves that and goes to school. You know he wouldn't clean up anyway, even if you asked.

Kaito is waiting for Thomas at the school gate again. “Hi, Thomas. Had a good night's sleep?”

“It was fine. I dreamed something really funny. Something about us in a really popular club. A school club.”

Kaito seems to contemplate for a second. “Maybe we should start one. A club, I mean.”

“Oh really. What did you have in mind?” The other shrugs. “Let's decide that some other time.”

They walk a bit in silence. “Thomas, let's look for the Puppet dogs in the lunch break today”, Kaito says suddenly, a smile on his lips. “Maybe they'll feel up to play this time.” Thomas shrugs but then nods anyway. “Well okay, I guess.” He tries to play it cool, but you know he's excited to see the puppies. After feeding them for the first time and seeing them bounce around the next day, he was a lot more easy-going around the dogs. Kaito and he usually look for them in the lunch break, playing a bit or feeding them until it is time to go to class.

They arrive at the classroom and sit down as they wait for the teacher. They arrive shortly after the duo, a grave expression on their face. The class notices this and immediately stiffens up, waiting for the teacher to speak up in complete silence.

“Class, this is a topic we have spoken about before”, they say, arms crossed as they stare the students down. “This is about the puppet dogs.” Thomas stiffens a bit, a hint of worry on his face. “You think they found out about me and Kaito feeding them?”, he whispers, you only able to shrug.

“We found the dogs today. Most of them were dead.” Thomas gasps, but not loud enough that it would be able to overshadow the murmur of the other students.

“A quick look over by a vet has shown that they were probably fed things that were incredibly unhealthy to them, leading to their deaths.” Thomas completely freezes at that, the class murmuring again. His eyes are widened and his mouth slightly parted, only staring at the teacher in shock.

“That's how we know that some of you have ignored our warning to not feed them anything. I won't ask you to fess up now. Just stay after the lesson and we'll have a talk about this.” Thomas visibly deflates, like all his energy left him. The teacher starts with the lecture, but you can't get him to pay attention. And he isn't the only one. The entire class seems to whisper among themselves, trying to figure out who fed the dogs. You think many glances pass Thomas, but it might be your imagination.

The class ends. The students pack their things and start to leave, continuing their discussions outside. Thomas stays behind. You let him and promise that'll you'll be with him because this is as much your fault as it is his. He smiles weakly at that. 

When nearly every student has filed out, Thomas stands up to walk to the teacher who also stayed behind, but before he could do, a hand grabs him and drags him out. “Let's go to the roof, Thomas.” It's Kaito.

Thomas protests slightly but doesn't really fight it, letting himself get dragged up the stairs. The roof is empty. Kaito forces Thomas to sit down on the ground across of him.

“Kaito, don't you think we should tell the teachers the truth? I was the one who fed them wrong things!” Kaito shakes his head. “You don't need to be punished for something you didn't do.”

Thomas just looks at him bewilderedly. “But I fed the dogs…” Kaito shakes his head again. “It wasn't your fault”, he says, both hands on the other's shoulder. “Whose fault is it then?”, Thomas asks, a little irritated.

“It was Merag's fault.” A simple answer. How he knows about you was a riddle to you, but Thomas wasn't really in the state to question him for you.

“How is it Merag's fault…?”

“Really easy. She's your puppeteer, right? They control you. Humans don't have a free will. Which means when you fed them, it was really Merag who fed them.”

Thomas shakes his head. “Things between Merag and I are different-” 

“Even then, she should've stopped you. She could've told you it would lead to their death. But she didn't stop you. Plus she even encouraged you”, Kaito interrupts. There is still doubt shining in Thomas's eyes. “I fed them, so I killed them…” Kaito sighs.

“Come on, say it with me. 'It's not my fault.’”

Thomas repeats hesitantly. “...it's... it's not...my fault.”

“It's not my fault.”

“...it's not...my fault.”

“It's not my fault.”

“...it's not my fault.”

Kaito smiles at him. “That's right, Thomas. This isn't your fault. It's Merag's fault. It's the dogs’ fault for eating. It's the teachers’ fault for not getting the stray dogs out of the yard. Just remember that it's not your fault.” Thomas repeats it like a mantra.

You don't say anything. 

Kaito kisses Thomas on the lips.

“You're great, Thomas”, he whispers. Thomas barely reacts, only looking at Kaito with wide eyes. “You're great”, Kaito repeats. “Way better than Chris will ever be.”

He kisses Thomas again.

**322 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

Thomas is in an incredibly sour mood today. “I can't believe he had the gall to ask me if I was okay afterward. Is one usually okay after being pushed to the ground? The answer is no!”

[He just wanted to help.]

“He can try for all I care! He still pushed me! Should've avoided pushing me in the first place if he wanted to help!” You don't understand why Thomas is so mad about this. It was just a little accident which ended with both of them on the floor. It happens, right?

“Oh, whatever. I can see that you don't understand. Or rather feel, because I can never see you anyways.”

[Don't be that way, Thomas.]

“Don't be what way? I have a right to be angry at him! He's like the most disgusting person in the entire school! He's fat, always sweating, his chin is weird, he laughs too loud, he feels way to cool on his skateboard, he looks at people weird, and his voice sounds super strained because the fat is so thick it's blocking his voice. And this person, this disgusting person, didn't only touch me, nooooo, he pushed me. He pushed me! What an asshole, right? He is a bitch-ass motherfucking hoe who is still nooby at being a slut so he makes himself a cunt-whore. I wish he'd die! I wish he’d burn in hell!”

You don't comment on that, as you know that Thomas is extremely difficult when he's like this. Just let him vent his anger and he'll be fine the next day.

He slams open the door to his home with more force than necessary, kicking his boots from his feet and throwing his jacket on the ground, stomping inside. “Oh, Thomas, you're back!” Michael is already there. He sees the mess his brother left at the door and goes to clean it up, Thomas ignoring his presence as he continues stomping down the hall.

“Ah, Thomas, wait!” After he puts the boots and the jacket away, Michael runs to catch up with his brother, making big steps to be able to walk along with Thomas's pace.

“What do you want?”, the middle Arclight snarls, making Michael visibly getting smaller next to his moody brother. “Chris says he and Dad are going to be home late, so can you make something to eat?”, he asks timidly, Thomas groaning.

“Just make something yourself. I'm not hungry.” Michael frowns. “Thomas, you haven't eaten yesterday, too. You need to eat, or you'll-”

Thomas whirls around, his hand hitting Michael's face on accident. Michael holds his nose. Thomas does not apologize.

“Or I'll what?”, he hisses instead. “I'll drop dead? Who cares about that? I don't.”

Michael's nose is bleeding. He looks for a tissue in his pockets. Thomas doesn't look.

“Don't say something like that”, Michael whispers, his worried gaze still directed at his older brother, even though he was fighting with the bloody nose.

“We care, Thomas. We want you to be healthy-”

“We?”, Thomas asks sharply, eyes narrowed and teeth grit. Michael's self-confidence shrinks even further. “W-well of course...Chris and dad and I…”

“Chris and dad!”, Thomas interrupts, sneering. He laughs like it was the best joke ever. Michael shrinks even more. On a positive note, however, he finally finds a tissue.

“Why aren't they here if they care? Face it, they don't!” Michael looks like he wants to say something, but Thomas continues speaking.

“Let's make a bet, Michael. Tell Chris I'm starving myself and that I'm only going to eat if he comes home. I bet he's not coming.” 

Michael looks troubled. “You know he's busy…”

“Busy? His little brother threatened to starve himself. Is one really to busy to come home and stop his madness?” Michael doesn't say anything. Thomas smirks at him like he just won some big argument. “You know, I'll even know exactly what he's going to say. Just let Thomas be, he's just attention seeking again. I'm not going to listen to his selfish demands. There he goes again, throwing a childish tantrum.” He even tried to imitate Chris's voice a bit, speaking in an overly polite tone making silly hand gestures and rolling his eyes in an over the top manner.

Michael doesn't have an answer to that one as well.

“I'm glad we agree on this one, Michael”, Thomas says, smug expression as he turns around to walk into his room.

“That really hurt, by the way”, Michael says in a soft voice, Thomas stopping, but not looking back at his brother. “Deal with it. Life sucks.” He continues walking. Michael doesn't follow or stop him.

He reaches the door to his room, tears it open and slams it shut again, dropping himself on the bed with a sigh.

[You were being really unfair to Michael. And you hurt him too. You should apologize.]

He grumbles. “Shut up, Merag. I'm not in the mood for one of your lectures. You can leave that to Chris, alright.”

You don't know what to say. So you just don't say anything. Thomas chalks it up as a win for him and mindlessly kills time with his phone until it's time to sleep. 

**310 DAYS UNTIL THE TRAIL**

Tetsuo, so the name of the boy that had pushed Thomas, did it on purpose. You know now.

“You're the dog killer! Dog killer!”, he and his friends shout in unison as they push Thomas around in the circle they build.

Thomas's clothes are slightly torn and his face bruised. He's fighting even though they're five people. “Shut up! That wasn't my fault!”

They don't listen to him and continue to push him around. You want to help, but as a puppeteer, you can't do anything.

Thomas tries to punch Tetsuo. But he gets a punch to his face instead, landing on the ground with a groan. The bullies laugh and kick him a bit, finally leaving after Thomas doesn't move anymore. You're worried. His eyes are closed.

[Thomas, can you hear me?]

He groans and cracks an eye open. “Mhm, Merag...I can't move…”

[You're going to be fine, hold on, okay?]

He nods weakly. You wait together that someone arrives to help. Thomas's breaths are getting shallow and you're worried. Do you have to part with him so soon? You think about what you can do right now. As his puppeteer, the only one you have control over is him. You can't make another human appear. You're getting desperate.

Just as you were about to break a rule and rewind a bit, Kaito comes around the corner. You've never been this happy to see him. 

[There's Kaito! Call out to him so he notices and helps you.]

Thomas complies. He calls out in a weak voice, just enough to make Kaito hear him. He turns to see Thomas on the ground, beaten up.

But he doesn't help.

He turns away immediately and just leaves. Thomas stares at the spot where Kaito just stood before he left. You are speechless.

A bit later, a teacher finds Thomas.

**290 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

“Morning, Thomas!” Today is one of the days where Michael is awake before Thomas. He has made breakfast, so you don't need to tell Thomas what to pick from the fridge.

“Morning…” Thomas is still sleepy. He just eats what's put in front of him. You know he doesn't even know what it is.

“Did you sleep well?”, Michael asks Thomas humming in response. “I dreamed I was an egghead puppet or something like that…”

Michael doesn't seem to really get it. “That's great!”, he says. You guess it kind of is. For Thomas at least.

Thomas is nearly finished when Michael puts a little bottle in front of his brother. “Don't forget to socialize and find lots of new friends, okay? Those will help you if you feel bad.”

It's Thomas's anxiety pills. He takes them and turns them around in his hands, finally dropping them in his pocket. “Thanks, Michael.” Michael smiles kindly. “Anything for you, big brother. Have a fun day at school!”

He leaves to enter his room. You wonder if he's just going back to sleep and only woke up to look after his brother. If Thomas catches on, he doesn't say anything.

“Hey Merag,” he says. “Let's pick up something fun for school!” You ask him what he means. He shrugs and points at the cartons left behind by Chris yesterday. “I'm sure Chris has something funny in them. Let's look!”

You want to stop him, but before you can do anything, he's already ripped open one of those. “Woah, there's pepper spray! Are all cartons filled with that? Who needs this much pepper spray?” You honestly can't answer that.

He takes one of the cans and closes the carton again. “Pepper spray is fun enough, I guess.”

You tell him it's for self-defense and not for fun. He tells you that self-defense is fun. You shake your head and he chalks up another win.

He walks to the elevator and pushes the button for the second floor. Then, he gets out and walks his usual way to school. It's just a few hundred meters. You don't talk during the walk.

But suddenly, he stops. You follow his gaze. In the dark alleyway next to the street that leads to the door, there are four students from Thomas's school. Three boys and a girl.

One of the boys is lying on the ground, curled into a ball. You can't see his face, but his arms and legs are bruised badly. The others are kicking him repeatedly, calling him names and laughing. Thomas steps towards them.

[Wait, it's too dangerous.]

Thomas clicks his tongue. “We can't just let them hurt him. It's wrong.” You express that you're worried that they'll hurt him. He smirks and brings something out of his pocket. It's the pepper spray he brought from home. “It'll be no problem with this.” You agree but are still reluctant.

With you somewhat agreeing, Thomas goes over the bullies and smiles at them. “Hey, why don't you stop?” They look at him funny. “Who are you?”, the girl asks, Thomas flipping some of his hair back. “You don't recognize me? Well, that's fine. Just stop.”

One of the male bullies snarls at Thomas. “And why should we listen to you?” He wants to throw a fist at your protege, but he pulls out the pepper spray and gets a good load into the bullies face. The latter screams in pain and backs off, screeching about his eyes. The other two bullies take a few steps back in shock. “Does someone else want?”, Thomas asks, a smirk on his face. The bullies cry out about how they won't forget this and all run.

“Hey, you okay?” Thomas crouches next to the beat-up redhead on the ground. The latter groans as he cracks open an eye.

“Who the fuck are you?”, he asks, scurrying a bit away from Thomas, distrust clear on his face. Thomas shows his empty hands. “I'm Thomas. We go to the same school.” 

The redhead looks at him like one would look at a snail that's crawling up your leg. Then, he takes a look around. “Where did the idiots go?” Thomas shows him the pepper spray in his pocket. “They ran away after I showed them this.”

The other snarls. “I didn't need your help.” Thomas shakes his head. “Don't be stupid. You can barely move. Let me help you.” The redhead slaps his hand away. “I said I don't need your help!” Thomas helps him up anyway. He can't really do much but to complain and weakly fight against this in his condition. “I'll get you to the school nurse”, Thomas tells him. He doesn't answer.

“Why were they beating you up in the first place?”, Thomas asks. The other looks at the ground. “...I told them are lesser beings and that they should kiss the ground I walk on”, he finally says after a short period of silence, nearly making Thomas double over.

“Why would you even say something like that?” The other boy glares at Thomas. You can nearly feel the burns marks from that glare. “Because it's true, duh.” Thomas is confused. So are you. “I don't belong here”, the boy explains. “I belong in the true realm, not in this shit hole.”

“The true realm? Isn't this where you are from, Merag?” You affirm this.

The hurt boy huffs. “Everyone here thinks I'm human. But that's not who I am. My name is Vector! I am Vector from the true realm!”

He asks you if you know someone by that name. You deny this. Vector looks a bit mad.

“To you humans, beings from the true realms are like gods”, he continues. “I can't stand how they treat me like I'm just a normal human. Like I'm one of them. I'm better than all of them.”

Thomas doesn't know what to answer. “That's great”, he says. “But you can still get hurt. Just look at yourself. You can't even move.” Vector snarls at him. “Who cares about this body? It's just a vessel. It'll be empty once I leave for the true realm again.”

“But you're hurting.”

“As I said, I don't care. You should've left me for all I care. If this body dies, I might get to become a god again.” Thomas doesn't say anything. Neither does Vector. He just stares at their school in hatred. “I'll become a god again, no matter what”, he suddenly murmurs, spiteful. “If I have to destroy this damn vessel, I'd be willing to do that.” Thomas still stays silent. You can understand why. You honestly don't know what to answer either.

They arrive at the nurse's office. Before Thomas can say anything, Vector has already gone ahead and opened the door. Thomas stares at him like he's waiting for something. Vector groans, looking to the ground in an almost shy manner. It makes you think about how much of Vector's personality is real. “...Thanks. Human Maggot”, he says, then closes the door. Thomas sighs.

“Did it really kill him that much to say a ‘thank you’? Did he really have to call me a human maggot?”, Thomas complains, walking towards the classrooms with his eyes to the sky and hands raised in the same direction.

[You're the last person I wanted to hear that from.]

“Merag!”, he whines, glaring. “I can be very thankful, you know.”

[Never saw that.]

“Pshhhhhh! I hate you sometimes, Merag. Really.”

[Really.]

“Really! You're being a real pain right now!”

Thomas sighs and pouts a little. You let him. You're still wondering a bit what Vector's deal was.

**265 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

Thomas is mad at Chris again. He's in his room, furiously ripping some paper apart while angry tears flow out of his eyes. Even if you try to console him, it won't work.

“I hate him”, he whispers. “I hate him and dad so much. I wish they would die.” You shake your head. He sobs angrily and ignores you.

In his anger, he swipes over his table with his right hand, making his pens and pen holders, glass ornaments, some folders filled with paper and other things he kept on it scatter to the ground with loud thuds, the glass breaking in a sickening crash. He ignores the mess and goes up to his bookshelf. His feet are bleeding a bit because he stepped on the glass.

He rips a few books out, opens them, tears pages out. After he loses interest in them, he throws them to the ground as well, grabbing the next book. He's screaming.

He kicks the books and some of the other things on the ground. A few of them get tainted in his red blood. He doesn't care. 

A few minutes later, he collapses into his bed, still screaming, still crying. He rips his pillow apart and throws the plush in it to the ground. You wonder when his destructive side will be satisfied. The white sheets are red. He rips them apart as well. You can't stop him.

Suddenly, the door opens. It's Michael. He looks worried. “Thomas, what's wrong?” He takes a look around. “What happened here? Hey, you're bleeding!” Michael wants to take a step into the room, but a crunching stops him. There's still glass on the ground. He frowns and leaves, quickly returning with some steadfast boots and a first aid kit.

He enters the room and looks at Thomas's feet, quickly treating them as his brother doesn't recognize his presence, now silently crying into his mattress.

“Don't tell Chris”, he whispers after a few minutes of silence, Michael agreeing reluctantly. He then helps his brother to clean up the room. Blood stains don't go off that well. Michael can't do anything about that.

Christopher finds out. He gives Thomas a lecture. Thomas glares at him through it.

You feel like everything's getting worse.

You feel like Thomas is slowly getting out of your control.

**234 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

Vector is waiting for Thomas on the roof. “Hey, Human Maggot”, he says, grin on his face. “Doesn't it get tiring being controlled by a puppeteer all day?”

Thomas tilts his head slightly. “I'm not being controlled all day. Merag and I have an arrangement. I do what I want and she only does something if I am in real danger.”

“So you're saying that you're still in control? That you have your own free will?”, Vector asks. Thomas nods, making the other laugh out loudly. “Free will is just an illusion, Human Maggot. Even if you think you're deciding by yourself, the puppeteer does the decisions. They just make you believe that fairy tale you just told me.”

They sit next to each other, backs leaned on the railing of the roof.

“This place is just a giant shit hole. I want to get outta here soon. Move on to the next world. Whatever.” Vector smokes. He asks if Thomas wants one too. He tries and coughs pathetically.

“Why are you telling me this?”, Thomas asks, still wheezing a bit. Vector shrugs. “You're one of the few persons who listen to me. Most of them already leave when I say the word 'puppeteer’. They don't believe in it. Believe that there's only themselves deciding about their fates. But we know better.”

His purple eyes meet Thomas's magenta ones. They stare at each other for a while. Then, Vector leans in. It's just a little peck, nothing special. Thomas looks at him in wonder. “Once I'm a god again, I'll make sure to make you happy, Human Maggot”, Vector whispers. “Or better, I'll take you out if this shit hole. I'll let you come with me to the true realm.”

He takes Thomas's hand. Thomas doesn't know what to do. 

“Sound good?”, Vector asks. Thomas just nods.

**209 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

There's a new student. He's a little younger than Thomas, so he isn't in the same class. But he was so popular after the first day, it even reached the higher classes.

Thomas also knows because Michael seems to be really smitten with his new classmate.

That new classmate's name is Yuma Tsukumo. 

He is a bright ball of sunshine, lacking a better comparison. Even though he doesn't have any talents, really, his attitude and energy just pull everyone along. Even Vector seemed to be tamer around the boy. Even Tetsuo was nice.

It pisses Thomas off, for some reason.

“How can someone so talentless move so many people?”, he grumbles. You tell him that's all because of the attitude. His kattobingu. He snarls.

You think he's just upset that Yuma for some reason has no interest whatsoever to make conversation with his best friend Michael's older brother.

You think Thomas just wants a bit of the light.

You nudge him to talk to Yuma. He reluctantly agrees.

But once he sees Kaito talking to him, laughing with the boy, smiling a smile Thomas has never seen on him before, he flees immediately. You can't stop him.

When he gets home, for the first time in quite a while, he's alone. Michael left him a note, he wants to spend some time with Yuma and his friends and will be back later.

**190 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

There's a nasty rumor at Thomas's school. They say Shingetsu and your protege are a couple.

“I saw them kissing on the roof the other day!”, a classmate says. The other laugh. “No way.” 

If Vector heard them, he doesn't let it affect him. Thomas, however, glances around nervously.

“The two biggest weirdos in our class hooked up!”

“Man, this sounds like it's straight outta some love novel!”

The laughing gets unbearable for Thomas. He stands up and leaves, Vector glancing after him.

The next day, Thomas enters the room and is greeted by big letters on the blackboard, spelling how he and Shingetsu were kissing on the roof, a goofy drawing underneath. His desk is also filled with similar messages. He goes home immediately. Vector isn't even in school today. 

The harassment gets worse over the next few days. They call Thomas names, push him around a bunch and make weird faces at him. He tries to zone them out as best as he can. Vector is still skipping. You don't want to let Thomas skip more.

[If you skip so much, how will you ever catch up to Christopher?] 

He looks tired all of the sudden. But he listens to you and continues attending school. If the teachers see the bullying, they ignore it. Michael is never around to help to treat him anymore. Chris and Byron don't even exist in the home anymore. Thomas doesn't treat his own wounds.

It has been about a week since the blackboard inscription incident. The school day is already finished and most of the students have already left. There's a tiny scrap of paper on Thomas's desk. He puts the water and mop he got to make his table clean of writing again away, picking up the note instead. It's from Vector.

_Meet me at the roof. We have things to talk about. Shingetsu._

Thomas sighs and puts the piece of paper in his pocket. He complains about how he doesn't want to see anyone, but you know he's glad to finally talk to someone about this that isn't you. He cleans his desks, puts the things he needed for it back to where they belong.

Then, he makes a beeline for the roof.

But when he arrives, there's no one there. He looks around and waits for a bit. The sun is starting to go down and is tainting the sky in a beautiful orange. He hears the door opening.

“Finally, I have been waiting for forever-”, Thomas groans as he turns around, but then stops dead in his tracks. Vector isn't here. It's Tetsuo and his friends.

You want to tell Thomas to bolt, but the door is blocked by the bullies. “Hey there, Thomas. How are you on this beautiful day?”

Thomas doesn't answer. Tetsuo smirks at him. “You know, I have always known that you're disgusting and weird, but boy, kissing other dudes just gets this to another level, seriously, ew. Your parents must be disappointed.”

Thomas grits his teeth and averts his eyes. You tell him to not listen to Tetsuo. “People like you are like cancer. Kissing other dudes, pah. Everyone knows that boys kiss girls and girls kiss boys. What you're doing is forbidden. It's disgusting. A disgrace to everything human. Fucking homo ” 

He spits and fumbles a bit in a pocket. He finds what he was looking for. It's a pair of scissors. Thomas takes a step back, but the other two lunge at him and hold him down. He can't get them off alone, even with all the struggling he does. You tell him to not give up. He just snarls and tries harder.

“It's time to teach you a lesson. To make you remember where you belong.” Snap, snap.

“I bet your hair is your gay pride, right?” They laugh. Snap. A strand of hair falls to the ground. “Stop!”, Thomas calls desperately, making the others laugh. They punch him and continue cutting his hair.

“I feel like a girl, cutting someone's hair”, one of the bullies says. “Bullying methods of a girl are the most effective on homos.”

They laugh. They spit. They cut. They kick. They punch. They laugh. They spit. They cut. They kick. They punch. They laugh. They leave.

Thomas only stays for a few minutes after they leave. Then he gets up himself, slowly limping home. You don't say anything. He doesn't either.

Home is dark and abandoned. Thomas looks at a mirror and breaks down crying. He's a mess. He has trouble breathing in between his sobs. He coughs. A black substance splatters on the ground. 

[Shhh, calm down, Thomas. It's just hair, it'll regrow. And your wounds will heal too. Breathe easy now. Come on, we'll fix your hair.]

His breathing gets better, but he's still crying. You tell him to get a pair of scissors. He does so and goes to the bathroom, staring at the mirror there. Then, he slowly lifts the scissors. The blades are sharper than you'd like. They also get way too close to Thomas's throat.

[Thomas…], you start, but before you can even finish your sentence, someone else has appeared behind Thomas, gently taking the scissors from his hands. It's Michael.

“What happened to your hair?”, he asks, Thomas averting his eyes to look at the ground. “...I wanted to cut it.”

“Uh-huh.” Michael sounds skeptical. “Let me fix it for you, okay?” Thomas agrees and Michael starts cutting the hair, gently touching the scalp and hair, Thomas's visibly relaxing. You're glad.

“How is it?”, Michael asks, Thomas smiling at his mirror reflection. Michael had done a good job fixing it. “It's great. Thanks, little brother.”

Michael smiles a little, but it won't reach his eyes. You can tell he's worried. “Hey, big brother, don't you want to tell me why you suddenly decided to change your hair?”, he asks, Thomas avoiding his eyes again. He's bad at lying to Michael, it's kind of cute.

“I wanted to change my look, that's all.” Michael frowns. “You know that you can tell me anything right?”, he says, Thomas still not meeting his green eyes with his own. “I'll always be your ally.”

“...I know, Michael. Thank you.” They spend the rest of the evening together, eating ice cream and watching movies. Thomas looks a lot better. 

[Why didn't you tell him about Tetsuo and the others?]

It's late and Michael and Thomas are cuddling on the couch, Michael sound asleep and snoring slightly. Thomas is tired himself but stays awake to talk to you a little.

“I didn't want to”, he says. “If I tell Michael, he'll freak out and tell Chris. And then Chris will lecture me all about getting in fights, keeping up appearance, respect and that kind of stuff. Because he hates me and will use every opportunity to make me feel bad. And he's never on my side. Never.”

[You know that's not true. He cares about you. He'll try to help you.]

“You're wrong”, Thomas whispers. “He hates me. Dad hates me, too. He always tells me I'm a bad kid. Asks me why I can't be more like Chris or Michael.”

You say that's only when Thomas is bothering him at bad and stressed moments. He gives you a look. You know it doesn't matter when he says that, the fact is he did. You don't know how to cheer him up.

[If you tell someone, you'll feel a lot better.]

Thomas shakes his head, tired. “I really don't want to.” You let it go and he falls asleep. You watch him with a frown on your face. You want to help him, but you feel so powerless. You swear to protect him. He smiles a little in his sleep.

The next day, Christopher is at their home. He wakes Thomas and Michael for school.

Because he probably just came home, working the entire night, he looks tired. He doesn't really speak with his brothers before going to his room to rest.

If he notices Thomas's new haircut or the bruises all over his body, he doesn't say anything.

**176 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

Kaito is waiting for Thomas at the school gates again. Thomas smiles as he sees him. He waves and Kaito waves back.

“How are you?”, Kaito asks, your protege shrugging. “I've been fine. What about you?”

Kaito looks happy. “Haruto has been doing really good lately. I'm so glad. Maybe we'll be able to visit the fair together.”

“That's good.” Thomas doesn't know Haruto, not really. He is bedridden and stays home all the time. Thomas was never at Kaito's home.

“And Chris and I have been discovering something really amazing, recently.” Kaito, the small genius he is, is helping at his father's and Byron's lab with Christopher. Thomas is sometimes jealous that they get to see each other so much.

Kaito talks about the lab work. Thomas tries to keep up and throw something smart in once in a while, but one can see that he really doesn't have any idea what Kaito is talking about. You know he wants to talk to Kaito though, so you try to sometimes try to whisper him what to say. He looks grateful.

“By the way, today's club meeting day, isn't?” Thomas looks glad that Kaito is finally talking about something he can understand and talk along. “Yeah. The usual room after class.” Kaito nods. “I'll be there.”

They arrive in class. Kaito sits next to Thomas. The table and the blackboard are empty. “Is it true that you've been hanging out with Shingetsu? He kind of has a bad reputation, so I was curious.”

Thomas shrugs. “He's an okay guy once you get to know him. ...Really! Don't look at me like that. He's a bit... misunderstood.” Kaito looks a little worried. “Well, if you say so...aren't you scared that the people picking on him will target you too?”

Thomas smiles. “Aw, don't worry about it. Everyone here loves me!” As if on cue, their classmates start filling in, greeting Thomas with a smile. “That's why we have the club, forgot?” Kaito looks a little relieved. “Yeah, you're right. Forget what I just said.”

The school day goes on. Thomas is praised by the teacher for his great work. The class looks at him in awe.

After the lesson, Thomas moves to the club room with Kaito. They enter.

It's a very big room, fitting for the biggest club in the school. To the right of the entrance are seats, already filled with people. Some are standing. The room is big but still filled to the brim. Everyone is wearing white.

There's a seat in the front row reserved for Kaito. He waves Thomas as he goes up the steps to the stage on the left side. There's a small speaker's desk. Thomas stands behind it and taps on the microphone a few times to test it. The room goes quiet immediately. It's kind of impressive, considering the sheer amount of people in it. Everyone is wearing white. A camera is pointed at the stage where Thomas stands. 

“Welcome!”, he calls, the microphone carrying his voice into the furthest corners of the room. Everyone is watching him intently.

“I am glad so many attended the weekly meeting of the White Society!” There's clapping. “Tell me, friends, what is our goal?”

“STAY SAFE! STAY CLEAN! STAY WHITE!”, the crowd roars, Thomas nodding in approval, smiling at the crowd, at the camera. “And how do we do that?” 

“FIND THE TAINTED! REPORT THE TAINTED! PUNISH THE TAINTED!”

Thomas claps his hands. “That's the spirit! All of you have been really working hard and submitted so many new names to the blacklist. Now, take a look at it and choose today's special guest! Vote! The one with the most votes will be punished! So vote for the ones who wronged you. Vote for the ones who upset you. Vote for the ones to hurt you. Together, we will hurt them a thousand times more.”

The crowd takes out their phones. They're white, too.

After a short while, Thomas claps his hands again. The crowd puts their phones away and looks at him. “The voting is finished! Let's see who's the lucky one! Thank you for your input and let's stay white together!” There's clapping again.

“It's showtime!”

The curtain around the stage closes. When it opens again, the speaker's desk is gone. Thomas and another person are on the stage. The other person is tied to a chair, wiggling around, but unable to free themselves. 

“Hi, everyone!”, Thomas says, a happy smile on his face. “Welcome to our weekly execution hour! Meet today's guest! Tetsuoooo Takedaaaa!”

The crowd cheers. Tetsuo makes muffled noises. He can't speak because he's gagged.

“He's an awful bully who everyone hates. He kicks people on the ground, says mean things and is also a pain to look at! I can understand why you voted for him today, dear friends!”

The crowd agrees. Tetsuo looks terrified. He's trying to scream, but it's all muffled. Thomas hushes him with a stern look on his face.

“Anyhow, he was chosen to be today's special guest. Hey, what are we doing today again?” Thomas looks at the crowd.

“COOKIES! COOKIES! COOKIES!”

Thomas smiles. “That's right! I encourage you to make one with us. Those are the things you need! First: a tainted! Second: usual cookie ingredients! Third: a special ingredient! And fourth: a flamethrower! Let's get started!”

The crowd cheers. Tetsuo is getting desperate. But he can't free himself.

“First, mix the usual cookie ingredients. Butter, some sugar and maybe an egg...and some flour. Mix them well!” Thomas holds up the dough for everyone to see. It actually looks pretty good, considering it's Thomas. 

“Now, let's add some spice to the dough- and I don't mean literal spice. The special ingredient! Get your phones out!”

The crowd does so.

“Let's vote! What should the secret ingredient be?”

Thomas looks at you. “I'm giving you a vote as well, Merag. Just tell me.”

>> Needles  
>> Bleach  
>> Chocolate Chips

You don't want to vote, but he's waiting for you. You can't proceed in this storyline unless you do. So you vote.

“Thank you! Thank you for voting! I will now reveal the result. The thing we voted for...is this!” He holds up a bottle of bleach. The crowd cheers.

“Well then, let's add the special ingredient to the dough!” He dumps the entire content of the bottle into the dough and uses some wooden spoon to mix it.

“We're finished! Look at this beautiful dough we have created!” The crowd cheers again. Thomas looks proud of himself.

“Now, let's make the cookies. See, this is what we need the tainted for!” He rips Tetsuo's gag off. Immediately the screaming and begging start. Thomas rolls his eyes. “Now, remember that they'll be noisy. So get the dough into them as fast as you can!” He dumps the content of the bowl with the dough into Tetsuo's still open mouth, making him gag and try to spit everything out. Thomas doesn't really let him.

“Once the dough is in, put back the gag immediately. There's a chance they'll spit it out again. Also, they'll be less noisy this way.”

Tetsuo looks like he's going to be sick. Thomas smiles sweetly. “To bake the cookies, get your flamethrower.”

He puts on protective clothing and takes the flamethrower. “Now, don't forget to stay safe and put on protective clothing! It's one of our goals after all. I can recommend Kaiba Corp's protective suits. With them, you can stay white aaaall theeee tiiiime!”

He points the flamethrower at the still weakly struggling Tetsuo. “If you don't have a flamethrower, an oven will do just as good. Remember to not burn them by letting the bake too long, but also don't take them out to early, otherwise, they won't be solid! And we don't want that now, would we. Anyway, let's do this! Here I go!”

Flames began to shoot out of the flamethrower. They engulf Tetsuo immediately. His screams are muffled by the gag.

Thomas gasps. “Aw, I burned them. Too bad. I hope yours will be better!” He waves at the camera. “This will conclude today's show! Stay white with us! Join White Society!”

The crowd applauds. The curtain closes and the lights go out. The members start filling out slowly.

“Phew, I'm beat!” Kaito pats Thomas on the shoulder. “Great show. You were amazing.” Thomas lights up at his praise. He looks really happy.

**146 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

Thomas is watching Yuma with a frown on his face. It's a sports class and they are sharing space in the gym.

Michael's class is doing some gymnastics today. Yuma loudly exclaimed that he will jump over 20 blocks. Even though most of them are skeptical that he'll make it, everyone is cheering him on.

He fails miserably.

And yet, everyone is laughing. Not about him, but with him. Because Yuma himself has the most radiant grin on his face like he achieved something even though he failed.

Right now, he's talking to Michael. Michael looks really happy. Happier than he looks when he talks to Thomas.

[Just talk to Michael about it.]

Thomas shakes his head. He's upset, really upset. You're worried. “Why does everyone like him so much even though all he does is fail? I have good grades, I look somewhat good, I try to be nice. Why won't anyone like me?”

[You have Kaito and ...Vector, I guess.]

“Yes, but Yuma is friends with them too!” Thomas actually looks ready to cry. You don't think you ever have seen him like this.

“There’s no one who would rather have me over Yuma, isn't there?”, he says sorrowful and pained voice. Michael notices him watching and waves. He doesn't wave back.

[...I like you a lot more than Yuma.]

“...Even you hesitated, Merag.” There's nothing you can say. Because he's right.

“I don't want to stay here anymore. There's no reason to. With people like Yuma, there's no need for me.”

You can't think of words that would make him feel better.

**113 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

Thomas is skipping school today. You tell him that you can understand why, after all, the harassment was getting worse. He's glad you agree. Now he's watching TV, mindlessly zapping through the channels. All he sees are commercials.

Suddenly, there's a sound from the door. Thomas checks the clock. It's too early for Michael to be back.

Furious boots sound in the hallway. Thomas freezes up. It's Christopher. He's enraged, as one could see from his narrowed eyes and clenched jaw. He was slightly shaking, just staring at Thomas is in the TV room.

“What is the meaning of this?”, he asks in a Christopher typical cold rage. The room feels like it's freezing. Thomas can't move, even with your guidance. He's scared.

“You know, I got a call from Kaito at work today. _‘Hey, is your little brother okay? He hasn't been at the school for a few weeks. No, not the small one. Thomas.’_ So I call Michael. He tells me that you're never up when he leaves. And that he can't get you out of bed. That you tell him you'll be going to school a bit later. But the fact is, you've never even gone to school. You just stayed home, loafing around. Are you not realizing how important school is your career?”

Thomas still can't get a word out. Christopher doesn't take his silence well. “Answer me!”, he shouts, Thomas flinching. “Do you have any idea what you're throwing away right now? There are children that don't have the things you have. You can call yourself lucky. And yet, you're acting like this. Thomas, I have had enough of your childishness! You can't keep doing whatever you want!”

“Lucky? Childishness? Whatever I want?” Thomas repeats, bewildered. His eyes are wide and fists clenched. “Do you have any idea why I'm doing this? Oh, wait, there's no way because you're never here!” He glares at Christopher, who looks slightly surprised.

“How come you respond to Kaito's call but not to mine?! Huh?! Why are calling Michael to ask about me and not me?! Are you trying to avoid talking to me this much?”

“Thomas, this has nothing to do with what we've been talking about-”

“It has all to do with it! If you talked to me sometimes, you'd maybe know why I have to do this. But you don't! You bury yourself in your work to forget about us. Just like dad did!”

Christopher shakes his head, sighing in disappointment. “I already know why you're being like this. You want my attention, don't you? Well, good. You have it now. I hope you're happy.”

“That's not it at all! See, I told you, you wouldn't understand. Hey, maybe you should try solving me like some problem at work. See if that works.”

Christopher sighs again. “Why can't you be more like Kaito? Then things would be less complicated-”

“Just kick me out and adopt your Kaito, then!”, Thomas screams. His voice is cracking slightly. “Then you can have the brother you want so much instead of me! Oh, wait, if you're siblings, then you can't fuck him anymore, so that might be a bad idea.”

“Thomas, what I'm the world are you talking about-”

“Don't play dumb! I know you're fucking him. That's why you only respond to his calls on work. That's why you always stay late at the lab and never get home. Have your peace to do whatever you want there, huh? Don't have to worry about little brothers barging in and witnessing everything! Better yet, not having to worry about little brothers at all-”

A slaps sounds in the room. Complete silence follows after. Thomas holds his cheek. He looks up at Christopher with wide eyes and slightly parted mouth.

“You”, Christopher says in an icy voice. “have said enough. I want you to go to your room and think about what you did. And I won't let you leave until you realize and regret.”

“You can't force me”, Thomas grits out. But Christopher can. Even though he is a researcher and is not particularly fit, Thomas isn't that strong either. And his older brother is still bigger. So he is able to force Thomas into his room, screaming and kicking. He closes the door, Thomas still pounding against it, and turns the lock. After he does, there are heavy steps, indicating he left.

Thomas still pounds against the door. “Come back here, Chris!”, he screams. “I'll kill you! I'll smash your head into that stupid new machine you build! I swear it! And then, you'll burn in hell! I fucking hate you! You hear me? I hate you more than anything in the world!”

This continues until Thomas's fists are bleeding. He breaks down crying, screaming with his sore throat until that gives out, too. Luckily, there are no glass ornaments in his room this time.

“See Merag? He's never on my side. He didn't even come back to check on me. Michael didn't either. Do you think they'd care if I died?”

[eRRorCONnECtIonERROR]

“Haha. I thought so too.”

**96 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

Thomas is mad at Christopher again. 

Michael had some ‘bring your parent to school to have them witness a class’ event in his school today. The closest to a parent the two Arclight brothers had was Christopher, as their father had died during some crazy experiment even before Thomas even turned ten.

But even though that event was on a Saturday, Christopher firmly told Michael he was to busy to attend that and that he maybe should just ask if Thomas wanted to tag along. Which was a completely stupid idea as Thomas attended pretty much the same school.

So Michael told Thomas he didn't need to come. He said it was fine, but Thomas knew how upset he was. He was really looking forward to that.

So Thomas is mad at Christopher. “Merag, let's go out some. I need to be there some anger!”, he complains and you agree to go to the arcade in the city. Michael is still in school because of the Saturday event, otherwise, Thomas would've asked him if he wanted to come along.

He's strolling down the streets as he makes a peculiar discovery. It's Christopher.

“Chris? What's he doing in the city? Wasn't he like super busy?” Thomas's eyes narrow. Christopher is dressed pretty nicely for someone who's usually walking around in a lab coat. He's glancing at his watch from time to time. Thomas continues watching him.

“Ah, did you wait for long?” 

Kaito Tenjou comes around the corner. Thomas's eyes widen. He's dressed really nice too. “Oh, I wasn't waiting for too long.”

Kaito laughs. “Starting out pretty normal here, aren't we. I rather not have my first date be like one straight out of a book. Not that I mind cliches, though.” Christopher chuckles. “Well, I do my best to surprise you then.”

“But aren't surprises cliche too?” They laugh together and leave. Thomas is frozen in place. His posture is deflated and his mouth opens and closes without a word. Twice.

[...are you okay, Thomas?]

Thomas slowly shakes his head. His eyes are watery. He bites his underlip. “I wanna go home”, he says. His voice is slightly cracking. You nod and start leading him back to the family home. It has been a long time since he let you do that. It shows how upset he really is.

Michael is home now. He opens the door for Thomas. He looks worried and asks what's wrong. Thomas ignores him and goes straight to his room, turning the lock and letting himself fall into his fluffy bed.

He lets out the first sob. Tears soak the pillow as he silently cries into it. Michael knocks at the door and asks what's wrong. Thomas still ignores him. Soon, his body is wracked with sobs. He has trouble breathing easy again. You can't make it better this time.

He mopes around in his room for the rest of the day, doing nothing in particular. Once he's calmed down enough to talk, you speak up. There's still some tears running down his cheeks, but he doesn't even seem to realize that.

[You'll be better soon, Thomas. I promise.]

“I hate Chris”, he replies. You frown. “I thought he at least cared about Michael. But he can make time for a date with….with a K-kaito, but not for Michael's school event? How does that make any sense?”

You don't really have a response to that. He sniffs and hugs his pillow close.

[I'm sure there must be a misunderstanding…]

“But you heard him say it! _‘I don't want my first date to be like one right out of a book’_. He said date! As in spending some time at shops, maybe watch a movie and then eat something together! How does he have time to do that with Kaito but not with us?”

You know there's no excuse. To be honest, you're just as upset about this as Thomas is.

“And...did it really have to be Kaito he's going out with?”, Thomas says, burying his face in his pillow, hugging his knees close. 

“Fuck this!”, he cries. “It's all messed up! What does he see in someone as emotionless as Chris anyway? Fine, he's smart, but that's it, right? I'm pretty sure Chris is incapable of loving something! He's a robot in disguise!”

[&#+€(*;#))#!]

“Yeah. You're right. Unforgivable. I hate him. I wish he'd die. Die horribly.”

[FIND THE TAINTED. REPORT THE TAINTED. PUNISH THE TAINTED.]

Thomas eyes narrow. “Yes. I will find all the tainted and punish them. All of them.”

**88 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

...

PLEASE STAND BY

...

_Ever feel like the crowds are suffocating you? Don't have your alone time? Feeling sick?_

_Kaiba Corp has a solution just for you._

_With the new Vacuum Cleaner BEWD, you can clear large areas free of sentient organic life forms!_

_And the best thing is, they won't work on any animals other than the homo sapiens!_

_Kaiba Corp. We know what's truly important._

...

There's clapping as the curtain raises. “Hello, friends! Welcome to the execution hour! Meet today's special guest! Christopheeeer Arcliiight!”

Christopher struggles against his bindings. He glares at Thomas as if to ask what the meaning of this was. His words were muffled by the gag, however.

“Chris is the worst big brother ever. He never has time for us and lies with a stone face all the time! Remember when he said he was busy when in truth he went on a date?” The crowd laughs. Thomas laughs with them, wiping a tear from his face. Behind him, Christopher looks mortified.

“He is a horrible person! Nobody can stand him! That's why we voted for him, right? Let's see the sweet mail we got from the audience for this episode!” He takes out letters with a smile and starts reading them.

“man, I always hated Chris -anonymous.”

“it's really hard to sympathize with him, tragic backstory when? -Thomasfan154088”

“can he disappear now, wow -anonymous.”

Thomas smiles at the camera. “Thank you for your great letters!” Christopher is still glaring, his eyes glinting in fury. You admire his strength.

“Now, what shall we do with him? It was you who voted for his persecution after all. Let's see our options! Get your phones out!”

The audience does so. Thomas winks at you. You understand that you have a vote again.

>> Write Fanfic where he dies  
>> Brainwash into a better character  
>> Reveal Backstory  
>> Kill gruesomely

You tell Thomas your vote. He accepts it with a grin and gets the audience's attention with a cough. Immediately, all the phones are gone and the eyes are all on Thomas.

“With this, the votings finished! Let's see...Wow! Seems like you all want- Hey, what are you doing, this area is off limits-”

Thomas stares at his stomach. There's a knife in it. Blood is oozing out of the wound. He was attacked. In his own show. The silence in the room is close to unbearable.

“Run, Chris!” The attacker is Michael. Thomas wordlessly looks at his younger brother, then at his wound. As if he couldn't make the connection between the two things. Michael stabs him in the stomach again. And again.

“My deepest apologies”, he can hear Michael say. “But were ending the broadcast. This show is over. Forever.”

Thomas faints.

**66 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

When Thomas wakes up, he can't move his limbs.

“It hurts!”, he screams out, heaving. “It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, IT HURTS!”

“Well of course. I did stab you, you know.” Michael is sitting not too far off on a chair. They are still on the stage. While the crowd is cleared out, the camera is still going.

“You're awake, Thomas.” Thomas stares at Michael. Michael glares back at him. 

“Why, Michael?”

“Hmm, why I wonder...? Maybe because I'm sick of you terrorizing this world? Maybe because I'm sick of you hurting others? Maybe because there's no one else but you that should be punished?”

Thomas manages to sit up. He holds his stomach wound. His eyes are wide and his mouth is slightly parted.

“Me, punished? But why…?”

Michael frowns. “Isn't it obvious? Thomas, you just tried to execute Chris. Your own brother!”

“Yeah, but he deserved it!” Michael shakes his head. He looks angry. “Why are you even saying things like this? How could you? Chris has always been looking out for us. Just because he doesn't let you do what you want, it doesn't mean he doesn't care! He always wanted what's best for us!”

Thomas growls. “You're wrong! You remember that Saturday when you wanted there was this school event you wanted Chris to attend? Where he said he didn't have the time for that? Well listen up, he was on a fucking date that day. I saw him in the city!”

Michael kicks Thomas. Thomas groans as he hits the ground. “How dare you say that. Chris would never lie to me.”

“But I would?!”, Thomas cries in protest. Michael looks down on him. “You did, forgot? You told me you would go to school later. But you never did. You stayed home.”

Thomas's eyes widen. “No, that was-”

“You're making excuses again. I don't want to listen to them anymore. You know, spending time with Yuma and his family made me realize what a crappy brother you are. You always look for trouble. You don't appreciate anything Chris does for you. You don't appreciate what anyone does for you. Ever.” He holds his nose. Thomas looks ready to cry.

“Even though he was never here, he was a better brother to me than you were.”

Thomas is crying now. He opens his mouth to say something but closes it immediately as he notices there won't be any words coming out. Michael sneers at him.

“This world doesn't need you anymore. Your terror reign is over”, he says, starting to go to one of the ends of the stage, fumbling with something. Thomas doesn't respond and just lies there, in the middle.

[You were wrong to trust Michael.]

Thomas looks up slightly. 

[He's just as tainted as they all are.]

[Hey, why aren't you doing anything? You could get out of this situation easy.]

[He's a traitor. He lied to you, too.]

[He said he'd always be your ally. That you would be able to tell him anything.]

[Now tell me. Is he on your side? Is he listening to you?]

[He's on Chris's side. He'll never be on yours.]

[He's not listening to you because he doesn't care. Just like Chris.]

[They're all the same. Michael is just as horrible as Chris.]

[He deserves to be punished.]

[He may act like he's saving this world, but don't be fooled, Thomas. He's the bad guy here. You're not at fault.]

“...you're right, Merag. Michael's a traitor. He lied to me. He made believe that he'd always be there for me. He made believe that there's someone who'd understand me. But it was all a lie.”

Thomas stands up. His wounds are healing, his tears stopping. Instead, his face was distorted by rage, eyes glinting in fury and jaw clenched. He's visibly shaking.

“Find the tainted. Report the tainted. Punish the tainted”, he whispers, clenching his fists.

[KILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIM]

Michael turns around. His eyes widen as he sees Thomas standing, completely unharmed. “What in the wor-” He can't finish the sentence. He's stabbed through the chest by a sharp mutated piece of flesh. They are growing out of Thomas's back. The eyes on them are all on Michael.

“Haha, are you scared? You can't get me down with just a few stab wounds. Don't forget that this is my world. I can do whatever I want.” Thomas smiles at his little brother. His eyes are glowing in an eerie yellow.

“I don't want Tetsuo to exist anymore? Just execute him! I want Chris to pay? Just execute him!” Michael coughs up some blood. Thomas laughs.

“You know, little brother, I just decided. I am the god of this world. I'm truly in control. And I decided that this world doesn't need you anymore. There no need for a traitor like you. You and Chris can both go to hell together for all I care.”

He lifts the flesh Michael is pierced on. His feet struggle to find ground as he is lifted up to the sky. Thomas sneers at him. “You failed from the start. You underestimated me. You thought I was stupid, didn't you? Hah, you were wrong. Just like everyone else. You really though a side character like you would have a chance against me, the protagonist? Don't be ridiculous.”

Michael groans and tries to free himself by tugging at the thing piercing him. Of course, it won't work. “You're a monster…!”

Thomas laughs. It's different from his usual laugh, shrill and hysterical. “I don't care about anything you have to say to me anymore. You betrayed me. You abandoned me. Goodbye Michael.”

“Go to hell”, Michael responds.

…

PLEASE STAND BY

…

“Hello, dear friends!” Thomas waves at the camera. “I'm so sorry our last show ended at such a sour note. To make up for it, this episode will be the most spectacular one yet!”

The flesh mutation lowers a bit, so the pierced Michael could be seen. He seems to be unconscious.

“Meet today's guest! Michaeeeeel Arcliiight! He's the reason why mornings suck! He's the reason for your bad grades! Well, aside from the obviously faulty education system. Anyway, he is the reason for everything bad that ever happened to you! Am I biased…? Oh, who CARES? He'll be the ultimate scapegoat we'll ever have on this show! I feel kind of sad that this show has to end, to be honest.”

Thomas reveals the things behind him.

“Today, we'll make a puppet. How exciting! Let's do it together. You need a traitor, a giant blender and some fancy clothes. Got them yet? Let's go!”

He lifts Michael up again. 

“First, put the traitor into the blender. Add some mint essence of you want to be fancy, if not, just go with some spit. Then, push the button!”

The blender activates. Red splashes on its inside.

“Now, put the meat chunks into the fancy clothing you prepared. Build the puppet just like you want them to be. Don't forget to attach some strings to your puppet and the ceiling for the extra effect. Voila! You have made your puppet!”

Thomas claps his hands. “I hope you had loads of fun with me today! I know I sure did! See you next time on the Execution Hour! Stay white with us!”

He waves and smiles. The curtain closes.

**40 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

“I really like you, Kaito.” 

Kaito looks slightly taken aback at Thomas's confession. He frowns and lowers his gaze. 

“You know I can't return those feelings.”

Thomas smiles sadly. Tears are already shimmering in his dull and lifeless eyes.

“I know. I just wanted you to know.”

**15 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL**

The house is empty.

Unbearable empty. It makes Thomas feel sick.

“Merag, I want to get out of here. I hate this place. I never want to see this house ever again”, he says, lying in his bed.

[Then let's run away together.]

His eyes light up at that suggestion. “Like, run away? For real?” You nod. He jumps up. “Yes, Merag! Thousand times yes! Let's get outta here!”

“What should I take with me, Merag?”

[Just get your jacket. We'll figure out the rest later.]

He takes the coat. You both try to think about things that are irreplaceable for Thomas that he should take with him no matter what. You can't think of anything.

Thomas Arclight leaves the family mansion in the late evening just in a coat and some money for the trains. He doesn't glance back even once.

When he reaches the station, it's already dark outside. Someone very familiar is getting beat up close to the entrance. “I still have the pepper spray”, Thomas says.

[Go help him.]

He does as you instructed. Vector doesn't look particularly relieved to be saved. “Human Maggot. Playing hero again? I told you once, I don't need your help.”

Thomas smiles. “Don't be stupid. We're friends, right? I won't let my friend get hurt for no reason at all.”

Vector looks at him in silence. Then, he grins. 

“Friends, huh...hey, Thomas”, Thomas looks up in surprise as Vector says his name instead of calling him a human maggot. “Where are you going?”

“I'm running away from home!”, Thomas chirps. “Merag and I decided so. I don't ever want to go back to this disgusting place ever.”

Vector nods. “You're going to explore the outside world? Sounds like fun! I'm tagging along if you don't mind.” Thomas looks up to you in question. You agree to Vector coming along.

They buy tickets and board some train. It drives off into the landscape. They don't talk to each other, just leaning on the other's shoulder, seeking comfort in each other's presence. Thomas tries to peak out of the window sometimes, but it's too dark to see anything. Vector takes his hand. Thomas squeezes back. His hand is cold.

They exit the train at the last station. It's completely dark. They stand under a lantern that provides them with light.

“The outside world is really dark”, Thomas remarks. “I was kind of hoping it would be friendlier, you know?” Vector watches him. “You want to go back?”, he asks, but Thomas shakes his head. “I don't want to go back. It sucks back there.”

Vector shrugs. “Can't really contradict this. I hate it there too. I don't know how the world looks through your eyes, but through mine, it's grey and cold. Distant.”

They are still holding hands. Vector starts tugging on Thomas's. “Well, if we don't want to go back, we better find a place to stay here, yes?” Thomas nods. They walk around the darkness.

The city's buildings are completely run down, some of them having entire holes in them, the missing chunks scattered around at the ground. “This place looks deserted!” Thomas looks at Vector nervously. “Is it okay to just wander around here?” The other waves him off. “It's going to be fine. Let's try to find shelter.” 

One of the building has light burning. They enter. A bug greets them. “Hello, welcome! Customer, you look troubled, I can tell! Don't worry, in my shop, you can get anything to need to ease your pain. Here, if you get the Freedom of Speech, I'll sell you Equality Rights with 20 percent off! Or would you maybe prefer the Women's Rights? Trade your life against further great offers!”

Thomas's brows are furrowed. “We should leave”, Vector says. They do. Then, they enter the next building that has light.

“Welcome!” It's a bug. “What can I get for you? Anti-Anxiety Protein Shakes? Fend-off-Procrastinating Socks? No? How about Bandages against Panic Attacks, then? Come on, don't be shy. I'll even throw in a membership and card in it!”

Thomas looks troubled. “I don't have any money with me…”, he says. The bug immediately changes posture. “Then why did you enter the store in the first place?”, it asks, clearly annoyed. “Stupid kids. I don't get paid for wasting my time on you.” He kicks them out. They continue walking. Thomas spots another building.

“Is this a pharmacy?”, Thomas asks. Out of the nowhere, a bug appears. “No, you're mistaken! This is the shop of knowledge! Everyone is starving. Starving for information. And I can provide them with anything! ...Well, because you're minors, I can't sell you anything. But tell your parents to come here okay?” Vector starts pulling Thomas away. “Thank you, we will”, he says and they leave. After a short time, Thomas stands still in front of a building again, however.

“What's wrong?” Thomas points at the building he's looking at. “It says 'Religion’ on it, but no matter how you look at it, it's just a department store, isn't it?” Vector shrugs. “Maybe it's symbolic?” Thomas shrugs as well.

They reach the end of the city.

“Looks like there's no place for us here”, Thomas says. “Then let's see what's ahead”, Vector suggests. They continue walking.

Ahead of them is a maze. “But why?”, Thomas asks. Vector chuckles. “Who cares? Let's go, Human Maggot.”

They walk through the maze with your help. With your position, it's easy to see dead ends. 

“Hey, Thomas”, Vector suddenly says. Thomas looks up from the ground. “What's Merag like, anyway? If I have a puppeteer, they never talk to me like yours does.”

Thomas seems to think about that for a second. “She's really kind and understanding. Even though sometimes, I am unreasonable and hard to deal with, she always tries to see where I'm coming from. And when I do something wrong, she doesn't hesitate to call me out on it. But other than Chris, she doesn't lecture me all the time, saying I should be like Kaito or something. She likes me the way I am. Right?” You nod. He smiles happily.

Vector laughs. “That's great. Usually, puppeteers don't really like their puppets. They do it because it's a duty because it's something like their job. Merag's pretty special isn't she?”

“Yeah! She's special in whole lotta ways!” He and Vector finally reach the end of the Labyrinth.

“I don't think we can stay here.” Vector nods. “Let's continue looking, then.”

They end up in a forest. It reeks and Thomas and Vector cover their noses with the hand they are not holding the others with. Human limbs lie on the ground. “Wonder whose those were”, Thomas says, Vector next to him narrowing his eyes. “The losers of the trial. They have no other place to go.”

Thomas's eyes widen. “Losers?” Vector looks at him sadly. “Don't you know? At the end of the year, everyone from school has to take part in a trial. Every student gets one vote. They have to vote for someone they care about, someone they love. And the one with the least votes will be a loser.”

Vector points at the bodies hanging from a tree. “If you are a loser, you are the garbage of society. You're unwanted, unneeded, nothingness. Then, you have no reason to exist in this world anymore.”

Thomas looks mortified. Vector tugs him along further into the forest. “Vector, do you think we'll end up like this too?” Vector doesn't answer that. You can't either.

The end of the forest is near. “I don't want to stay here”, Thomas whispers and Vector nods in understanding. “Then we'll continue…” But Thomas doesn't move. Vector looks at him in question. “Is there really no place I belong?”, he asks, teary-eyed. Vector frowns at him. “We'll find something”, he promises, squeezing Thomas's hand. The latter shakes his head. Vector points at the sky. “Look, Thomas. There's always a place up there.”

Thomas looks up. “I don't understand…?” Vector smiles at him. “I found a way to go back to my original form. And I did promise to take you with me. So…”

He takes out a pack of pills. “Took these from the school infirmary. I am a regular visitor of that place, you know. There's enough for two.”

Thomas's eyes widen. “You want to…”

Vector nods. “Let's go to my heavenly domain. We will get rid of these heavy bodies and rise above all of those earth dwellers.” He lets go of Thomas's hand and takes few steps back. He's shaking, but still smiling. His words are stumbling out if his mouth. “Will you come with me, Thomas Arclight?” He puts out his hand in Thomas's direction, waiting for Thomas to accept it. Thomas just stares at it.

“If I take this, I will leave Merag behind, won't I?”, he whispers, Vector tilting his head. “Don't worry. I want this to be your decision. Don't listen to Merag or I. And think about this. We have all the time in the world.”

Thomas averts his gaze. “What should I do, Merag?”, he asks, sorrowful look on his face. “I don't want to leave you, but I want to be with Vector, too. What should I do?”

[...]

“Merag?”

[$-*;”($)?$&#+#!@#?#/!!!!]

“I..don't understand.”

[ ]

Thomas looks at you. There are tears glinting in his eyes. “Please, Merag. I can't make a decision like this alone!”

[You have to. This is your decision to make. Just remember that I love you, Thomas. It will never matter what choice you make. I will love you regardless. I will forgive you regardless.]

Vector is still waiting patiently. Thomas looks between the two of you repeatedly. Then, he looks at the ground. “...I accept, Vector.” He takes Vector's hand. They immediately intertwine.

“I want to stay with you. I want to find a place where I belong. And for that, I have to part with you, Merag. Because you can only oversee me here. Where I don't belong.”

[I see. I wish you good luck then. Goodbye, Thomas.]

“Goodbye, Merag.”

Vector kisses Thomas. Then he says in a soft voice: “Thank you, Thomas. Believe it or not, I was really scared to do this alone. This human mind and body are so fragile. Fear and loneliness take over so easily.”

Thomas smiles. “Don't worry, Vector. You'll never be alone ever again.”

They take the pills and cuddle at a tree stump. Vector's hand is trembling. Thomas lays his head on Vector's. They close their eyes. 

“Loneliness is such a human emotion. Soon, we won't be able to feel that anymore”, Vector whispers. Thomas is feeling too sleepy to respond. They go to sleep.

They don't wake up anymore.

**DAY OF THE TRIAL**

Thomas wakes up in a good mood today. “Let's greet everyone!” He walks up to the door. It's locked. “Whaaaat.”

He tries again, but it won't budge. “But how am I going to greet everyone now?”, Thomas whines. Suddenly, everyone appears in his room. “How convenient!”

“HI CHRIS!”

“Hello, Thomas.”

“MICHAEL! I LOVE YOU, LITTLE BRO”

“Hello, Thomas.”

“KAITO, ILVM <3”

“Hello, Thomas.”

“HIYAAAA VECTRO!!!!”

“Hello, Thomas.”

“MERERERERAG!!”

[Hello, Thomas.]

“HI CHRIS!”

“Hello, Thomas.”

“MICHAEL! I LOVE YOU, LITTLE BRO”

“Hello, Thomas.”

“KAITO, ILVM <3”

“Hello, Thomas.”

“HIYAAAA VECTRO!!!!”

“Hello, Thomas.”

“MERERERERAG!!”

[Hello, Thomas.]

“HI CHRIS!”

“Hello, Thomas.”

“MICHAEL! I LOVE YOU, LITTLE BRO”

“Hello, Thomas.”

“KAITO, ILVM <3”

“Hello, Thomas.”

“HIYAAAA VECTRO!!!!”

“Hello, Thomas.”

“MERERERERAG!!”

[Hello, Thomas.]

...

“...Goodbye, Chris. Goodbye, Michael. Goodbye, Kaito. Goodbye, Shingetsu. Goodbye, Merag.”

...

The day of the trial has come. All of the students are gathered at the gym. The phones are in their hands.

“I'm sure you know the rules of the trial”, the director says. “Now vote already!” 

Thomas looks a bit crestfallen. “Hey, who should I vote for, Merag?”

>>Vector  
>>Kaito

“Okay…”, Thomas says with a smile. He puts in a vote. You both know it won't matter.

After a short while, the votings finished. The director steps forward once again. “I will now announce the name of the student with the least votes. Please step forward, Thomas Arclight.”

Thomas steps forward. All eyes are on him. But he can't make out any faces.

The director puts a hand on his shoulder. “You know what it means to be the loser of this trial, don't you.”

“Yes, sir.” The director nods. “Then stop existing.”

“Okay”, Thomas says.

**$+#(/$:”+ DAYS UNTIL THE TRAIL**

Thomas is in his room. He's burying a Vector. When he turns around to meet your eyes, you can see tears glinting on his cheeks. “Hey, Merag. Will I always be alone?”

[You were never alone. I'm here for you.]

He smiles at you. He still looks sad, however.

[I love you, Thomas. I will always be at your side.]

You wipe his tears with your hand. He leans into your touch.

“Thanks for staying with me all the time.”

You hug him and immediately his hands slide around your slim waist hugging you close. He holds you like his life depended on it. He doesn't let go. You don't either. His tears soak your shirt. "Stop this", you say. He sniffs, then looks up at you in wonder. "Stop what?"

"This. Keeping up this world. It's hurting you." You look down the hole he just dropped Vector's body in. There's a lot of Vectors down there. Thomas smiles wryly. "They always die. I can't stop it. No matter how much I change how I act towards him. No matter how many times I give him a new vessel. I can't help him. I can't fix him. And the hole never gets filled up no matter how many times I drop a body in here." You pat his hair. " I'm serious. You need to stop this."

"Maybe you're right", he whispers. "I wanted to be happy. I wanted everyone to acknowledge me. I wanted to be loved. But this... won't work for me at all. I loved being praised by Chris. I loved talking to Kaito. I loved spoiling Michael. I...think I loved Vector. and yet..." He glances at the hole and the many Vectors. "There are so many regrets. There's no end to them. This world is just one big disappointment. A disappointing world from a disappointing person." Both of you kneel down as he breaks down. 

"I'm so tired, Merag. So, so tired." You nod. "I know, Thomas. I know." You continue to pat his hair. He leans into the touch with a sigh. Remembering what you came here for, you take a syringe out of your pocket. You hesitate slightly, but then decide to inject him with it, gently guiding the needle into his neck. He stiffens first, but then closes his eyes."What's that?" 

"It's from Kaito. I'll help you finally get the rest you deserve." He sighs. "Kaito, huh. Thank him for me, okay? I feel like stones were lifted off my shoulders. Now, I can finally...rest..." You continue holding him. Around you, his world crumbles.

“Merag... I'm so happy... I got to see you. Thank you.. for everything...”

“...Goodbye, Thomas. Rest well.”

**Author's Note:**

> "Hello. I'm glad you read until the end. That makes me really happy. Did you find my world entertaining? Well technically, it was Thomas's world. We were all spectators in the end, weren't we? I admit the world was full of plot holes, sometimes illogical and confusing. But that's what makes it charming, isn't it? Remember that not everything that happened in this world happened to Thomas when he was still alive. But his mind was a mess. The parallels were so strong. He tried to make his world a paradise, but it became his personal hell instead. Everything became like he wanted it to be, but it was weird and alien to him. And as a consequence of that, his world morphed. Ah, but I'm babbling again, aren't I? I'm sure you figured as much yourself. and for what the parallels were...I'll leave that up to your interpretation. I thank you for staying with Thomas until the end again."


End file.
